Zucchini + Coffee = Drama June 27, 2008

Who would have thought that Zucchini and Coffee would have such an effect? I think that I’ll have to try this new combination tongiht!

Zucchini-Enhanced Coffee

Eating zucchini while drinking coffee has a dramatic effect, says AntarcticWidow, causing subtle nuances in the coffee’s flavor to come jumping out. “I thought it might have been my imagination but my husband said he experienced the same taste awakening,” explains Antarctic Widow. “Thinking that we were both nuts, I tested this out [again] this morning with sautéed zucchini. The coffee definitely tasted different, with more depth and flavor after eating the cooked squash.”

It’s not just the bitterness of the zucchini, says AntarcticWidow. She has gotten the same flavor-enhancing effect with both supersweet and fairly bitter batches of the vegetable. And it’s not salt, as the zucchini was prepared without it. For now, the cause remains a pleasant mystery.

Board Link: Coffee and zucchini ~ is it my imagination …?

Posted by Sarah Perry  |  Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:29:00 -0700  |  Tagged with: general topics

Mortifying Sin to Magnify Christ June 19, 2008

On Saturday morning of Resolved Conference, I got to meet with Leslie Davis (my RD, my mentor, my friend) for a cup of coffee at Starbucks and catch up from the past couple of years. God used this conversation to set a tone focused on Jesus Christ for the weekend. She helped me to see one thing that I may be missing in my pursuit against sin, namely perspective. We fight sin not because we merely need to put off the sin, but because the worship of Jesus Christ is at stake.

If I am in sin, it is because there is something wrong with my relationship with Christ. I am not in a quest against sin simply to get rid of sin in my life, but to magnify and worship Christ. The issue is whether or not I worship CHRIST, not whether or not I am dealing with a specific sin. The specific sin is evidence that I am worshipping something other than Christ, and need to repent of worshipping something other than Christ.

I tend to focus on getting rid of sin and to put it to death, but the turning from one to the other is not in itself the focus. If the turning for the purpose of looking more righteous, or so that my sin is not so grossly obvious, it is all in vain. If I am grossly aware of it and, get discouraged and dragged down by it, thinking that I am such an ill-deserving sinner that I cannot ever get back to the place of worshipping God rightly, my thoughts are also unbiblical.

I cannot ever repent of worshipping another idol, or begin worshipping Christ, or focus on Him unless in his divine intervention allows me to do so! I am completely inadequate to trust Christ. I cannot believe the gospel without Him, or put off and put on sin. I cannot turn from unrighteousness to righteousness. The only thing that matters is that Christ is magnified, and therefore I trust Christ to turn from sin, to repent, to put on righteousness, and to worship Him alone – all for the magnitude of Christ! He does the work, and he gets the glory.

Resolved 2008

This past weekend I went to the Resolved Conference in Palm Springs, CA. It was a great weekend in many ways, and I am so thankful to God both for the teaching, and for the many people who I was able to fellowship with! I was blessed, and encouraged, and convicted, and edified. God was definitely glorified through the worship of Himself at Resolved 2008. I am excited to share some things that I learned in some of the posts that will follow, but I thought I would begin by posting some photos.

What to do with the Rain? June 10, 2008

Everyone is talking about all the rain. It seems that you can’t talk to anyone without a grumble and a complain about the rain. It has definitely been a much colder, wetter year than any I can remember in a long time, and it is easy to start dreaming of warmer, sunnier days. However. A.W. Pink has given me a whole new perspective of God’s sovereignty in the weather in chapter 2 of “The Sovereignty of God.”

Learn then this basic truth, that the Creator is absolute Sovereign, executing His own will, performing His own pleasure, and considering nought but His own glory. “The Lord hath made all things FOR HIMSELF” (Proverbs 16:4). And had He not a perfect right to? Since God is God, who dare challenge His preogative? To murmur against Him is rank rebellion. To question His ways is to impugn His wisdom. To criticise Him is sin of the deepest dye. Have we forgtten who he is? Behold, “All nations before Him are as nothing; and they are counted to Him less than nothing, and vanity. To whom then will ye liken God?” (Isaiah 40:17, 18).

If God has created every part of creation for His pleasure, has He not created this moment of rain or storm or overcast skies for His Pleasure? Would we complain the same way about the rain if we thought of it as “rank rebellion?” Have we forgotten who our God is in that moment, thinking that somehow the weather was ordained by another?

We have an opportunity to show our love for God, and adoration of Him by enjoying the weather that He has ordained. What if we gave thanks continually for what He ordained in the skies rather than succumbing to the lowliness of mumbling? w